Apna Dal, BJP alliance will free UP from clutches of SP, BSP: Anupriya Patel

Patel is among the 19 new Ministers of State who were inducted in the Union Council of Ministers today

Apna Dal MP Anupriya Patel, who is among the 19 new Ministers of State inducted in the Union Council of Ministers, today said that her party in alliance with the BJP will make Uttar Pradesh free from the clutches of the Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).

The Mirzapur MP said the relationship, which was established in 2014 between the Apna Dal and BJP, has now scaled new heights.

"In these two years, both parties have worked together with harmony, affection and admiration. And if we continue to work in this manner then we will definitely be successful in our mission to rid Uttar Pradesh from the grasp of the SP and BSP," Patel, who is the daughter of OBC Kurmi leader late Sone Lal Patel said.

"I would like to congratulate both parties on this occasion. I hope will be able to meet our goal by 2017," she added.

The 35-year-old Apna Dal MP also thanked BJP president Amit Shah and all the senior leaders in the party for considering her to be a part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Cabinet.

"Above all I would also like to thank the BJP and Apna Dal. It is Dr. Sone Lal Patel's hard work and dedication that Apna Dal got the opportunity to become a part of the Cabinet," she added.

Apna Dal, the NDA ally in Uttar Pradesh, is likely to merge with the BJP any time soon.

With the BJP eyeing to conquer the throne of Lucknow, its merger with the Apna Dal prior to the polls will be significant as it would add the Kurmi vote bank to its kitty.

In a much-awaited Cabinet reshuffle, Prime Minister Modi today inducted 19 new faces, who have been chosen after an exhaustive vetting process to carry forward the government's vision of 'Gaon, Garib aur Kisan'.

President Pranab Mukherjee administered the oath of office and secrecy to the new Ministers at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

The Ministers of State are Faggan Singh Kulste, S S Ahluwalia, Ramesh Jigjinagi, Vijay Goel, Ramdas Athawale, Rajen Gohain, Anil Madhav Dave, Parshottam Rupala, M J Akbar, Arjun Ram Meghwal, Jaswant Sinh Bhabhor, Dr. Mahendra Nath Pandey, Ajay Tamta, Smt. Krishna Raj, Mansukh Mandaviya, Smt. Anupriya Patel, C R Chaudhary, P P Chaudhary and Dr. Subhash Bhamre.

Minister of State with independent charge Prakash Javadekar has been elevated to the rank of Cabinet Minister.

This was the second expansion of the Narendra Modi government. The first major Cabinet reshuffle was in November 2014.